East Yorkshire hospice faces funding 'black hole'

St Catherine's Hosipce in Scarborough say they are facing funding gaps, as staff costs rise 11%.

In a bid to balance the books, the hospice has installed solar panels to combat rising energy costs. An on-site restaurant has also recently opened to bring in revenue.

John Stevenson, Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees says it is a tough financial picture for the service. He said: "Everybody knows about increased energy costs and the solar panels are starting to help now to reduce energy bills.

"Our total income is around six and a half million pounds, so we are looking to fundraise in all sorts of ways to find four and a half billion pounds per annum.

Speaking about increased payroll costs, John said: "It is difficult, as we have some very skilled people. Their salaries are related to the NHS, which is where our competition is. We can't be paying less than what they could earn at the local hospital."

Public funding has only seen an increase of 0.6% in recent years.